An Ambush!

Becky found herself hiding behind Robin as the other girl stepped forward to push open the door. A brief second of pride told her to jerk away, rather than cowering behind someone else, but Becky wasn't exactly a great fighter, and Robin did have a weapon, while Becky herself was unarmed...

"Let's see, then" Robin turned the handle, and the door creaked open.

The doorway opened into a long, dark hall, illuminated by the same deep purple light. The remainder of the thin layer of gas billowed through in the door's wake. Doors lined the halls, and up ahead it seemed to split off in a four-way crossroads. In the dim lighting it was a bit hard to be certain of anything, but at a glance, the stone flooring and walls seemed to be fairly clean, and in good repair if not exactly polished to a shine.

"This must be Highwater's secret lair," Robin said, once again taking the lead, rapier held high and glowing faintly with arcane energy.

"Or it's just the castle cellar..." Becky muttered. Instinctively, her head went to reach into the inside of her coat for a dagger, only to spark frustration when it instead just brushed against the smooth fabric of the front of her dress. She tried to will herself to relax. Except for the strange glow, this really wasn't all that different from an ordinary castle cellar. ...Or so she would imagine, not having been to many castles in her 20 odds years.

"At least one of these passages should lead back to the surface," Becky said. The two passed slowly down the hall. Leaving so many unopened doors behind them made Becky nervous. "We'll just have to be extra careful until we can figure out which one..."

"Hmm," was Robin's only response. The girls seemed strangely quiet all of a sudden. Becky was only given a moment to wonder why.

The attack, when it came, seemed to come from nowhere and everywhere all at once. A strange, dark mist flowed out from between the bars of the doors both ahead of and behind them. The thin layer of gas on the floor helped mask their advance, and before Becky could so much as yelp shadowy demons coalesced into shape.

***

This chapter was co-authored by Shandy (https://chyoa.com/user/Shandy) --please check out his stuff! :)